RWBY Fanfic: Newcomer Tōboe (Burakku) Ketsueki
by TheNewGamer
Summary: I decided to make a RWBY fanfic. This will be following an OC Character named Tōboe. This is going to be a chapter story later on, follow Tōboe primarily, but also his Team as well. I accept any kind of criticism, good or bad.
1. Chapter 1

Beacon Academy, where students young and talented arrive to further their training in becoming a Hunter/Huntress. They've have faced many trials before and have surpassed the tests needed to advance to the higher education facility of Beacon Academy. They welcome all students, no matter what their diversity may be. Those willing to be trained will survive and learn many hardships, as well as the bonding with other young intellectuals as they become part of a team of four, for four years time.

Of course, students, however young and mature, old and naive, or adolescent and oblivious, are each are still maturing in the world and often share experiences as well as rivalries with others, as well as themselves. Not all though, fall into this type of life at Beacon. Some are outcasts because of what they are, for who they are, for what they believe in, and for why they joined. It is natural for others to pick on who they find inferior to themselves. Some shield themselves from this by hiding away from these bullies, other fight back. But here, one young man wants a friend, one he can relate to for what he is.  
It's been only a few weeks here at Beacon, and yet he has failed to show his face. He didn't want to be revealed just yet, he was self-conscience of his appearance, being a Faunus like a select number of others, but it was more than that to him. It something he can't change and feels it's something that needs time, for him to accept reality for what it is and what others will think of him.

"Daniel de la Lune Blanc, Mary Grace Dole, Tōboe Ketsueki, Naito," spoke Professor Ozpin, recognizing the group of students. It was particularly confusing why there were only three of the four standing in place during the ceremony.

Daniel, male standing tall in a white suit and tie, he is the eldest of the group. His hair combed down and off to the right, he was smiling as his name had been called along with the others. Mary, a young female dress in her dark yellowish long coat, was nervous, but vigilant at the fact there was one missing. He was the second youngest of the group, but is the tallest of the three present. Naito, looking forward with his one good eye, the other half of his face with a scar running though, was the mid-oldest one of the group. He worth his dark leather armor like he always has since. The three of them had their hands behind their back, in a respective manner, listening and being honor to be here on this day.

The monitors overhead when projecting their faces, didn't show a fourth, Tōboe's. It was replaced by a blank, black space. "The four of you," continued Ozpin, "have retrieved the Black Pawn pieces, from this day forward, you shall work together as Team Midnight (MDNT), lead by Mary Grace Dole." A round of applause followed suit as he had finished speaking. Still, while the three were happy at least to be part of a team, they looked curiously at each other, each the question they held in unison, "Who is Tōboe?"  
From above the amphitheater under the poor lit moonlight sat a dark figure, looking down at ceremony through the glass ceiling. He touched against the glass with his left, in his right, the Black Pawn piece. His eyes looked down sullenly at his three new teammates. "I'm sorry," he said to himself in a low voice. "I'm not ready….not yet…" He stood from his place, standing straight over the rooftop and turned away. Tōboe wanted to sleep alone tonight, not ready for confrontation of his team.  
That's was a month ago….

"...that concludes today's lesson for today class," concludes Professor Port on his lecture on the Grim, or prey as he says. His class steps out, that including two members of Team MDNT, of the lecture hall and all move out of the room. Port oversees his pupils exiting his class, until the last one out shuts the door behind them. He looks down and sighs, shaking his head. "It's safe to come out now….Tōboe." From the door on the far backside of the hall, there steps out Tōboe, head down and walking forward. He approached Port slowly, looking away to the side.  
"Forgive me Professor Port for having to burden you."  
"Enough Tōboe. I know that of your situation and fully understand how you feel and why the school has made an exception for the time being." He pinched the end of his bushy mustache and twist the tip pleasantly. "And please, you can refer to me as Peter."  
"Okay Professor." He walked over towards the desks and sat in the front, foremost seat. He held in his hand his journal and pen, that which he put in front of him and opened to where he wrote last.  
"Now where were we?" asked Port.

"Beowolves again, how you defeated that one Beowolf from your village."  
"Were we? Hmm. I thought I had said that story a while ago."  
"You did actually, "Tōboe confessed, "I just like the topic of Beowolves is all."

"That is may be, you must as a Hunter be knowledgeable of all the creatures of Grim out there, one can not just simply be a specialist of only one kind of monster." Port then turned around and walked small steps to the board. "The Grim are many, and yet there are still so many out there that which we know none of. If the species of Grim were to expand, what would you do? Do nothing because you can only combat Beowolves and not those like Ursas and Death Stalkers? It may be an interest of yours, but a Hunter must be ready to combat all creatures around him. If he…" Tōboe was listening, but not intentionally paying attention. He had his own reasons for liking Beowolves. "...and would soon end up working as a janitor."  
"What?"

"How another Huntress had lost against a pack of Nevermores and now she would work as a janitor."  
"Oh." He didn't catch all that from earlier, he was writing down notes from the board behind Port.

Meanwhile in the halls, the rest of Team MDNT was gathering to conversate about their school work.  
"So, how much work we have?" asked Daniel.  
"I don't think it's that much, just read 8 chapters about weapons and Dust," replied Naito.

"How can that not be 'that much?' Each one of those chapters are 20 pages long?"

"I read fast." replied Naito calmly. Daniel looked at him, tilting his head. He grinned.

Mary was off to the side of that conversation, listening in, but also in deep thought. It had occurred to her again, that still, after the ceremony and the month they've spent in the dorms, their fourth member has yet to appear. "Hey guys," the two turned around, "Have you noticed yet, that we're still missing one?"  
Daniel looked away. Naito looked at her. "We know. We've known since we came together. I thought it was odd too."  
"So I'm not the only one."

"No, and yet he is still here." Naito looked past Mary, as if in a trance. "Have you ever noticed, after we moved in to our room, there were four beds unattended. We fixed three and left one aside, then the next day, the bed was made, but nobody entered the room?"

"There were things left behind too," added Daniel. "Some clothes that didn't belong to Naito and I were folded on that same bed. I found it peculiar myself, but I thought maybe I was imagining things at first, but over the next few nights, more and more things came into place and our missing member seems to be among us in secret, so I believe."  
"But the question is why is he doing this?" Mary pondered this question in her head, "Why?"

Naito looked to them both, "Could it be possible, that he doesn't like having his face shown? I thought it was strange the day we were sent to retrieve the pieces that there were only three Black Pawns pieces there."

Daniel laughed a second later, "I must say that sounds absurd. Who would come to an academy of Hunters only to be one who wouldn't want to be shown? I highly doubt that is the reason."  
"What if he is a Faunus?" Daniel and Naito turned to Mary. Her trial of thought striking on this possible situation. "I know only a little about them, but is it possible that he feels we would discriminate him?" Naito made a face upon hearing the word Faunus.  
"Faunus...I didn't want to deal with them again…" Mary come closer to Naito, her hand resting on his shoulder. He looked at her know what she wanted to hear. "I don't want to talk about it."

Daniel yanked around his collar as he felt the situation heightened. "Uh….yes. Mary, it could be possible, but. " He coughed. "But should we really want to rely on a person who doesn't show himself? We don't even know how he looks, if he even looks like anything. If he's a Faunus, I'll do my best to tolerate him for all he is. If he's human, he must have some absolute reason for concealing his identity." He put his hands in his pocket, one feeling around for something to grab onto.  
Naito looked at him. Daniel flinched when he saw his expression. It was a sign of hatred towards them, the Faunus. He pushed Mary's hand off his shoulder and started to walk away. Daniel moved closer to Mary, both of which were watching him leave them. They both looked at each for a moment, wondering why was he bothered so greatly at the thought that their fourth member was possibly a Faunus. Daniel straightened his neck tie and brushed off his hair, he started walking in the opposite direction as Naito. Mary was there standing alone.

"...their bodies can't handle that much endurance when you're at your best, but otherwise you can expect yourself to become the hunted." Port raised his right wrist and looked down at it. "I am afraid that is all the time we have for today Tōboe. I'm glad you've attended today's class, unlike some people." Port chuckled to himself. Tōboe closed his notebook and stood up. He began to walk out to the hall, Port looked at him strangely. "Uh, Tōboe, you came in through that door," pointing to the door at the backside of the hall.

"Thank you Professor, but it is late now, there shouldn't be anyone out in the halls is there?"  
"No, I don't suppose." He grinned behind that 'stache of his, thinking _Maybe this is a first step for him_. Before Tōboe left, he reached behind his back, pulling over his hoodie, shadowing his face and hiding behind his back something else. He opened the door and walked out.

He walked slowly the empty halls, there being no other person in his sight. It wasn't long before he heard voices approaching in front of him. They were feminine voices. He stopped walking and slowly stepped back. The voices were becoming louder. He felt a pounding in his heart, not because they were female, but because they sounded purely human. There was a chill through his spine. Eventually they came to sight. They were four girls, all wearing the school uniform, one being separate from the group. The three girls who were together were easily distinguishable. The one on the furthest one from him had long blonde hair, somewhat messy and curled on some tips. The middle one had short, black-reddish hair. The one closest to him had white hair with one long ponytail coming from the right side of her head. Behind them was the lone girl, long black hair with a bow tied on her hair. He recognized them from the ceremony as well, they were Team RWBY. He stood by the wall, watching them walk by in front of him across the intersection of the hall. Tōboe flinched just then when he witnessed something unusual about the black-haired girl: her bow twitched.  
He then was in deep thought about this, did he see what he saw, or was he imagining this. He only thought there were a select few Faunus in this school. He can only recall seeing one rabbit girl running away from the cafeteria. He wasn't there in the place, but in the halls. He heard her crying throughout the way. He wanted to help, but didn't. He still thought himself too different to even confront one of his own, but now there was another!

If she is a Faunus, then she is keeping it a secret too, if….she's keeping it a secret. They then walked out of sight, leaving Tōboe alone with his thoughts.  
He didn't know where to go now that he'd seen another one. As far as he knows, there are only 5 Faunus attending this school, other than himself. Adding that one, it makes 6. He sighed still knowing that the other Faunus are open with their identities, and so far, this one who may be one is keeping it hidden.

He walked through the halls of the dorms now alone. It was late at night now, nearing the eleventh hour. He stood in front of his dorm looking down at the gap between the door and the floor. The list was still lit, behind it he heard voices talking.

"You think this is the answer?"

"No, it has to be about the second subject, third section. That's not the assignment."

"I don't know...I want to go to bed." The lights flickered off and there was silence. Tōboe just stood there. It was dark enough so no one can see him clearly, if they could even see him at all. All he felt was guilt, but it was countered with his fear. He knew he was different from his team, but even within his own kind. He could remember even faunus from his early life, at first questioning his appearance. He had friends, but all of them had joined the White Fang when they grew older. He was the youngest of his group, but he had different plans than the others. He didn't care about equality of the faunus and the Humans for he felt even with acceptance, he would still be singled out. He wanted to make a difference another way. He wanted to protect the people who he felt singled him out. It wasn't for the purpose of being well received by those who saw him as an outcast, it wasn't that simplistic. Internally, it was an obligation to fulfill a purpose of being to the cast an outsider, that which can satisfy his desires and needs for his life and personality.

He didn't stay any longer than a few minutes, he left to wander the halls again...


	2. Chapter 2

Class was leaving again, the day had ended once more for them. The door swung shut, the room was silent, and out came the loner once more. Professor Port had always welcomed him to his class, whether it was to study as the regular school day progress or on a more personal matter, to talk about his situation, if he wanted to interact.  
"Professor, er, Peter, I understand your concern over me, " Tōboe started to say, "but I do not feel ready."

"Then when will you be?" He sat in his chair at his desk, toying with a pen he used for grading. "You see Tōboe, you excel as a student of mine, easily one of the brightest I've had yet to this point of the year, but if you still wish to benight yourself in the darkness, then I fear all this will go to waste." Port held out Tōboe's test sheet, it had a score of 93 out of 100. "Students, at any age when becoming a Hunter or Huntress, acquire the ability to make their fear vanish! Those who fail to listen and learn what is right or wrong in the field of war cleanse their mind, they empty their thoughts into what is occurring at that moment. Some call it adrenaline, others say it is instinct, but the chains which held them behind, what crippled their performance had been shattered. Those links more than anything are held together by fear. Do you see where I am heading here?"

"I do sir," answered Tōboe as he nodded his head. "Those chains, they held me back since as far as I can remember. I tried to break them before without success, what hope is there if I can't destroy those links of burden?"

Professor Port leaned back in his seat with his hands crossing in between the fingers, elbows resting on the armrests. "Nothing in this world is unbreakable Tōboe. You may have to learn this lesson through hatred if you must, but there will be a time where those bonds of your will become weak, where they are as thin as I was!" Port laughed loudly. "They will only be as thick as paper clips when you are ready."  
Tōboe smiled for the first time during his stay at Beacon. "If only other teachers were like you Professor Port."

He chuckled to himself, "We all are here to lend a helping hand. Professor Oobleck might be more helpful if you spoke to him."  
"Eh…" Tōboe wasn't fond of that teacher in particular. His rapid motions were too much for him to keep up. History too isn't his most favored class. He's doing well in that class with a passing grade, but he doesn't enjoy that class, or his teaching style. Often he tried to improvise his classes as they were set up for the variety of students instead of the individual.  
"Tōboe, it may be only you that is keeping yourself from becoming part of the group." Port stated. "Being Faunus is nothing to be afraid of in this school. Is it their history? It is the White Fang that makes you scared? All that is rubbish! This school provides such an opportunity that we oversee these small facts and focus on your future that you chose to be part of, voluntarily might I add. Even so, with your condition of wanting to be hidden from the surface, we as a school have met that desire, but we do wish that all our students cooperate in such a way that will benefit them as well as their future."

"Professor." He paused. "You've seen me for a while now along with other teachers. You've seen me for what I am. How can I explain myself to others if they see normal Faunus as inequal?"  
"Time or courage," answered Port respectively. "One is the immediate result, the other is for people to accept, but a third requires both."

Tōboe closed his eyes and nodded softly. This speech he knew the answer to, he heard the same words being said several times back. Time would take possibly an eternity to accomplish, courage would take a fool to jump in without second thought, but both would be necessary, if the goal he desired so strongly is to be bought through patience and courage.

Tōboe packed his things again and was walking back to the door leading to the halls.  
"You've slowly been accepting yourself into this school Tōboe." He stopped to look at Professor Port. "If it was so much trouble for you then, imagine the ease you'll have in the near future."

He didn't react to that comment, he left the room shaded by his hood.

The team wasn't doing much this weekend, their free time being spent out in town. They had to prepare for a team exercise that was planned for several classes to participate in, returning to the Emerald Forest to put to the test their newfound knowledge of the Grim and their combat techniques. Unfortunately, it is mandatory that a team of four was needed. Unless they find their fourth member, it is a lost grade and a major dent in their overall progress.  
"I've spoken to Professor Ozpin," Mary began to explain, "There is a fourth member of our group, not just a mistake. He explained to me that Tōboe wanted to remain hidden. His statement was that he was self-conscious of his appearance."

The three of them were all hanging out at one of the cafes within Vale. Each one sat on one side of a round table, one seat is empty.

"Did you get any more from him?" asked Daniel, sipping on his coffee.

"No, no I didn't. I tried asking if it was his race that was the problem. That wasn't answered, by request. Tōboe wanted it remain hidden by all means, even this ethnicity." Mary sipped her tea and put it down. "What Ozpin said was his personality and his appearance were both connected to each other, when I asked if there was anything else. He wants to be away from us, but it is because of how he looks. That's all I understood."

"So he wants to be away because he's ugly?" Daniel responded insensitively. Mary frowne towards him. "What? It's just a suggestion."

"That can't be it." They both turned to Naito. "Students realized once they enter Beacon, they throw away the security of beauty with scars. I can only think of one solution: he's a Faunus."

Daniel sat back in his seat. "We'll leave it as a last resort should it come to that. I can tolerate him if he is, but until then, he's just a shy, ugly person."

"He's not ugly," interrupted Mary. Daniel shrugged and continued to drink his coffee. She shifted her attention to Naito again. "Naito, why do you feel so prejudice to Faunus? There has to be a reason."

He slammed his hand on the table, a recurring theme with him. Their eyes locked and he stared back coldly. "You still want to know?" He leaned forward. "Do you?" His voice was unwelcoming and harsh, underneath whispering _Go Away!_

Mary was nervous by this taunt of his, only to respond yes in return. He sat back in his chair. "There's only two words you need to know: White Fang." His eyelids closed and he let out a shallow sigh. "It wasn't that long ago, what the White Fang had done to me. I never had a problem with the Faunus before that. When they formed, starting a campaign of peace with war, that's where it began." He lowered his head. "Before coming here to Vale and Beacon, I used to live in a small town just on another continent. It wasn't that they were a bother to us, but both of our groups had our own way of living. We shared crops, we defended the town from Grim, we grew up together."

"We?" Daniel peaked interest.

"I mean 'we' as the Humans and the Faunus, but that's not the only way of saying it. I had a childhood friend who was a Faunus."

"Whoa," exclaimed Daniel, mouth open and looking excitedly at Naito. "Didn't know you had a heart. Thought you thought all Faunus was scum."

"No Dan, I'm not heartless." He stared back seriously and Daniel continued to grin. "I do have a Faunus as a friend. She and I were on good terms."

"She! Oh my god, this is getting better!"

"Would you stop interrupting!" Naito had stood up out of his seat angered.

"Alright, okay, I'll stop." Daniel sheepishly said.

Naito returned to his place. "As I was saying before being INTERRUPTED!" His eyes looked at Daniel who flinched. "She and I are on good terms, actually. We were friends since birth. Our town wasn't as large as you would think, it being near water and land enough to populate several generations of offspring. Her town wasn't that far either, but we met before she left my hometown. I know I was only around the age of 6 when she moved, but we kept a promise never to stay apart for too long.

"Since then, we often met in the woods, sometimes after the sun had set to when the moon would fall. I tell you, I kept that promise as did she. We grew older, and we both began to quarrel, that becoming of what we wanted in our futures as well as our relation. We wanted that if anything were to happen to us, we'd still remain friends. Time passed by and our relation went one more step further, anymore than we had expected. We were in a relationship." He lowered his head again. "It was a happy time then."

Mary was listening to every word, Daniel look at Naito somewhat pitiful. "So then what happened?" Daniel asked sarcastically, thinking he knew the end result of the story.

"She kissed me." There was a moment of silence. "We knew it was becoming serious. We had planned for that time then should we decide to go further. It was about to as well, but eventually other Faunus began to promote their word of peace with the White Fang association. It was before they started the bloodshed. I supported her in her decision to join, but it was later that I regretted it. We both were starting to part ways with her involvement in the White Fang, but I knew it was natural and was meant to come. I told her, 'When you find peace between us, between the Humans and Faunus, then come back to me to tell your tales. I'll listen, I'll care.'  
"Several months later, their previous leader had fallen and the bloodthirsty warlord took over. I hadn't seen her in so many months since. She had disappeared. Then war broke out. The Faunus next to our town weren't part of the outbreak of war, they were victims. Homes burned, churches in ruins and stores looted. I was part of the militia of my town at the time, along side a few others. We held out as best as we could, but it was there that I began my hatred against them."

"Since they destroyed your hometown?" asked Mary.

"No….since they took her from me." Daniel sat up again in full interest. "It was when we defended the town that they took my eye." He raised his left hand over his blind eye. "I defeated most of them, the ones who attacked me and the house I was defending, but one got loose. I fought back against that one masked figure." He laid one finger over his scar, starting from the top. "That one fought well, and yet I was blind to see why." His finger began moving down, running on top of the scar. "I let my guard down after defending myself, that one fatal flaw nearly cost my life, much more than just an eye." His fingered stopped at the base of the wound. "It cut through my mask I wore."

"Wait, you wore a mask as a piece of your battle armor?" questioned Daniel, rather confused.

"I did, not anymore. It was part of what the militia wanted, to keep our identities hidden should they return. The mask broke off, split into two pieces, and I fell down covering my eye in agony. I screamed loudly and cried with the burning sensation pulsing through my face. I expected for that assassin, that rogue to kill me, but she didn't…"

"She!" exclaimed both Daniel and Mary.

"Yes, she…her hands became limp and down fell her weapon. I heard her cry and scream of betrayal. I was confused then why she was crying, until I clearly heard that voice of hers. With my free hand," Naito raised his right hand, "I reached out and grabbed her mask." He made a motion of reaching out, clenching his hand into a fist. "I took it off…"

It became silent as Naito looked down mournfully by telling his story. Mary had covered her mouth in shock and Daniel had his mouth in the open. Both had their pupils shrunk. Mary felt the urge to hug him to console him. 'What was her name?"

"Reimei. Her name is Reimei." He laid his hands on the table in front of him. "She is a white cat Faunus, and still we keep that promise."

It became silent for that time after. They finally understood his hatred for why he disliked the Faunus and the extremists methods of the White Fang. It was because of love.

It became night time again that Saturday afternoon, and back at Beacon Academy, Tōboe was standing by the statue of the two Hunters, both on top of a plateau over a Beowolf. He looked at the male Hunter, his sword being held out in victory. His face looked so seriously.  
"Admiring history are you?" Tōboe turned surprised, only to be facing Ozpin. He had calmed down and nodded in response. He looked back at the statue, then looked down at the Beowolf. Ozpin walked up next to him. "So Tōboe, have you decided when you're going to take the next step?"

"To be honest sir, I haven't." He stared into the Beowolf's mouth, admiring it's fangs. "I just don't feel ready yet."

"You have to decide sooner or later as I have the authority over this school, I want all the students to move forward. That deal we made will expire soon, you realize."

Tōboe peaked interest. "We never agreed to an expiration date."  
"You didn't, I know. You're just another mind needing molding is all." Ozpin looked at the statues still as Tōboe stared at him. He felt angered.

"Why would you do that!"

"Why would you hide your face?" Tōboe still looked at him angered. Ozpin turned. "You're still wearing that hood of yours. You're just delaying the inevitable you realize?" He took a step forward, his cane tapping on the stone. "Do you know why we made that deal, when you hid your face and said to me 'I want to lay in the shadows, away from the students?' I have faith in my students to overcome these obstacles; it should be no harder than fighting if your only concern is fear." He took another step. "We only want you to success as a student of Beacon. We don't want you to fall behind on such small things such as your social fears." He was directly in front of Tōboe. "And yet as a Faunus, your fear is your appearance while other Faunus embrace their heritage."

"You don't understand…" Tōboe said.

"But I do," interrupted Ozpin. "I know what you are underneath, you're just a child, scared of going on his own. Did you even take off that hood once before me? Do you remember showing me you face even once? You're just a child who needs guidance, and we are here to guide you."

"I took my hood off before Ozpin," he stated with his teeth gritting. "I trust Port enough to have shown him who I am."

"So you're progressing is what I'm hearing." He smiled. "Tell me, did he jump in shock? Did you run away with fear? What was it that made you wear that hood of yours as a mask. You wear it so that it covers your face, to the point it can't be seen without being underneath you."

"I am not like other Faunus, why can't you understand that," his voice cracked.

Ozpin stopped, putting a hand on his shoulder. "No...no you're not are you. How can you be anymore different from the folks with ears and tails? That I fail to see."

Tōboe put on hand on top of his head. His hand was gripping on the fabric. "Then see…"

The halls remain quiet again, the windows letting in light and where he stood, but Tōboe walked a lonely path again. Ozpin finally knew why he hid himself, he was in awe himself for what he was. The deal would still be renounced as he planned, so Tōboe was walking depressed, still cloaked by his hood.

"What was it, that you showed to Ozpin?" He turned around seeing a mysterious figure, shaped as female. Her back was facing him, black hair flowing behind her head. He was frightened that someone had seen.

"What did you see? Who are you? What are you doing here?" He looked at the girl. On top of her head was a black bow. He widened his eyes as she turned around. It was her, the girl apart from her team, the one whose bow twitched. He was awestruck by her amber eyes and figure, and yet she remained so serious.

"Reading." She held a book in her hands, which she then shut close. "I saw you the other day," she said in a monotonous voice. "You were looking at me, weren't you?"

He lowered his head. "Yes, I did. I only had a suspicion." His voice came to a whisper. "That you were a Faunus too."

She didn't flinch or shutter, she didn't even show a single muscle twitch. "I am what I am, a Faunus." He looked up back at her, the bowtie gone. He took in a breathe of air, know that she did what he thought she wouldn't, reveal her true self. Her ears were in full view, both ears feline and black with purple inside. "I don't care about hiding who I am to my friends, or other Faunus." She looked back at the window where she sat. "But what was it that you showed Professor Ozpin? I don't recall him looking at anyone like that."

"What did you see?" repeated Tōboe.

"I only saw black ears from up here. I saw you down there and I remembered when I took off my bow, for the first time here." Her ears twitched. "I thought you were repeating the same act I did."

"I revealed myself only to Port before. I had enough trust for him." He hid both hand in his pockets. He wasn't wearing gloves. "When did you reveal yourself to your friends then? I know you wore a bow, so I assumed."

She dropped down from her ledge and stood. "I just let it out by accident actually. Weiss and I were arguing that time."

"Weiss?"

"She is the girl with the white hair with the ponytail off to the side. She's rude and the daughter of the current owner of Schnee Dust Company."

Tōboe walked over by the window and looked out. "Was Weiss degrading Faunus even more?"

"In a sense yes. She was naming us as thieves and liars, us and the White Fang."  
"White Fang...I actually didn't care much for them."

Blake perked her ears. "Really? What don't you care about?"

Tōboe sighed. "They can fight for peace however way they want, but I'll still be the outcast."

She turned his way. "Outcast? The Faunus are still not equal with today's force of law, even before they had done such drastic measures. The terms of equality have been lowering even after the Faunus Rights Revolution. Creating violence didn't make a difference between us and them, using fear as a guiding tool for equality. It's not what we aimed to achieve."

"I take it that you're an ex-member?" He raised his voice. "I hear preaching coming from you."

She frowned at him, though she couldn't see his face. "Yes, I was a member of the White Fang. I left after I had enough of their extremist ways. There are better ways of creating peace with Humans."

He looked over at her. "I can see that, but my reasons are a little different. I don't want a sense of being equal, I want a sense of belonging. How can I when already I am different, even more than a normal Faunus?"

"What do you consider normal then?" Blake had asked. "We are human enough to be not as different? How are you considered worse?"

He felt the sudden need to leave, but being so close to this Faunus, one that doesn't seem like she'll leave after he shows himself. "Girl…"

"My name's Blake."

"Blake...you don't know what I am. I am maybe one in a million when it comes to Faunus. Even my Faunus friends saw me as unique in a sense." He deepened his voice. "Will you….understand and not turn away when you see what I truly am? As a fellow Faunus, you may understand, but until you see me, will you get it. I am entrusting you with my identity, do you want to see?"

"That is up to you to decide. I may understand why, but I won't understand how. How you will feel."

Tōboe had one hand behind his back and pulled on his sweater. Blake saw his tail come out of from one of the legs in his pants. He had it tucked in with his left leg. It was completely black. The fur was well combed and appeared smooth. "A tail? Is that all? A tail and ears make you apart from the others?"

"Look again, at my hands…"

Each hand rested on the window sill. Her eyes looked down at his hands and took notice of what he meant. They were covered completely in fur, where his fingernails would be were short claws, rounded off. His right hand was turned slight, revealing the underside. There were pads there.

Her eyes narrowed unexpectedly. She didn't expect something like this. Blake looked at him confused. "What are you?"

"A Faunus like you, but different." He chuckled a little. "The floor feels cold tonight. I think I forgot to wear shoes." He chuckled again.

She looked down, looking at his feet. Tōboe had raised his pants. He was barefoot. They looked human, minus the fact they too were covered in fur, but his toes were different. He had only 4 toes, all having short, rounded claws and two being the center ones were longer than the ends. Blake was becoming highly confused for what was happening, and slightly shakened. She never saw a Faunus like this before, this appeared to be unreal to her. Exactly what was he.

His head turned towards her, she looked straight at him. "Well." He sounded indifferent, but his voice had gotten softer. "There is only one part of me left to show." His right hand was over his hood. "You've seen me what I am so far. What do you feel?"

"Confused," answered Blake. "Honestly a little frightened."

"What do you think I am?"

"I think you're a person." She took in a deep breathe. His left hand joined his right, both gripping onto his hood. Slowing pulling back, the fabric was coming off. Blake was watching intensively. His hood had been pulled back enough to reveal his mouth. It wasn't human. More his hood was taken back, and more his face was becoming revealed. his nose came into sight, colored black in a tone different from his fur. Soon, his eyes were in plain sight. they shined in the moonlight, but naturally they were golden. At last, his hood was drawn back, his ears perked up. What was hidden underneath it all was the head of an animal. It became silent.

"What are you?" Blake, after such a period of silence, manage to say.

"What am I?" He spoke so softly, it felt like tears. "I'm a wolf." he bent over the window sill, resting his elbow at the base. His tail move with his motion. "I was born to Faunus parents, both loved me dearly I can say since I am alive today. I was always the outcast of my town. Most of the Faunus saw me as different from modern species of today. The Humans saw me the same. Several times I was bullied for being different, fighting me, pushing me, even threatening me. I was lucky that I had gotten a few friends in those days, but all of them were several years older than me. In truth, though they were Faunus, they weren't my first friends. That I want to talk about later.

"Many of my friends from there had left for the White Fang, leaving me behind. I didn't want to join them for their goal of peace. I would still be the stray of the bunch. I still felt the need to belong, but I knew if I took a job as any other commoner, I would be equal, but apart at the same time. It wouldn't satisfy me either. I want something that can, honestly, make me feel alive."

"Is that why you came here to Beacon?"

"For the most part, yes." Blake had put an arm around Tōboe, she felt sorry for him. "You know," he started again. "When I was told that I wasn't normal, but I had thought before, that maybe I was unique in a way they hadn't thought. I cheered up a little when I thought about that, but they wouldn't understand." He closed his eyes, looking down. "I had thought that maybe, just maybe it was my genes, that I am what our people used to appear long before, or that I was the beginning of a new breed of Faunus." He smiled. "Then I would have a reason for being different, don't you think?"

"Maybe." Blake lowered her eyelids, taking all this in. "When...do you plan...on telling your team?" His ear perked at the question, and he turned to face Blake. "I know it's hard living in secret already, but you can't hide yourself how you appear for long. It will come out sooner or later."

"I know…" Tōboe stared back at the window. "That's what Professor Ozpin said to me down there. I had only stayed hidden for so long because of a deal I had made with him. It's going to expire soon now, he's forcing me to chose."

"Whether you want to stay here, revealed to the students who you are…"

"Or to live a life in the shadows, but have my secret safe."

"Can it be called a secret if it is all that you appear?"

"No...no it can't." His voice had lowered in pitch. "I would be caught sooner or later, like now with you Blake, but I wanted to gain comfort and confidence before revealing myself to them. I can't change my appearance, but I've seen some Faunus take it to extremes to be human.

"I understand what you mean with that." She had tied her bow back on.

"Blake, I had decided to tell them, I was on my way there. I didn't feel confident in telling them actually...until you talked to me." He peered over at her. He smiled again.

"Your welcome, I guess." She sat herself on the window sill. "So, what you going to do now?"

"Talk to them, I guess. Still, it was better to let it all out on a Faunus than just all humans." He lowered his eyelids, a little tired. "I don't know...how did they react to you?"

"They didn't."

"Do you think, they will do the same?"

"No." She spoke bluntly. "They won't. My team did for me since we all were friends. We understood each other and forgave one another. You never spent a moment with them have you? They won't know you, I barely know you. They will judge you with what they see and what they know. What they know, is that you strayed away from them. In their eyes, you're a coward."

Tōboe looked over at her, she was serious. "I don't expect a simple 'Hi, my name is Tōboe' and we all become friends to happen. I expect it to take several months before that happens."

"Well, it can be quicker than you think actually. One night could be all you need." She place her hand on Tōboe again. "You need to lighten up just a little. Don't let this thing about you change who you are." She patted him on the back. "I'll see you around. It's been nice meeting you." She stepped down from the window, picking up her book. She walked away.

"Same here….Blake." He barely said that last piece, but he started walking as well.

"I just hope they will except me." He stood in the dorm room, waiting for their return.


	3. Chapter 3

It was nearing one past midnight, Tōboe still sitting patiently on his bed, waiting. He hadn't thought they would take so much time to return, yet it was Sunday now. Staying up late was something common with students, even far past the twilight hours. Tōboe couldn't stay up much longer though. He wanted to sleep.

He took off the bed cover and tucked in the sheets. He didn't change clothes, he just stayed covered by his hood and by his sheet. "Let them leave me alone for tonight...please…"

It was nearing the third hour, the entourage of MDNT was arriving.

"What are we going to do about that one guy?" asked Daniel.

"I don't know,"replied Mary. "He's bound to appear sooner or later." They all walked in the darkened halls of Beacon, their Scrolls lighting the way. They stood before their door, Daniel holding out his Scroll to open the door. They went in, one at a time, Naito was the last to enter. It was dark entering, but they noticed the window curtains pulled, letting in pale light.

They didn't notice Tōboe.

"I just want to sleep," yawned Daniel.

"And yet you were the one hyped on caffeine." Naito didn't change, he just went straight to bed. Daniel was opening his draw to change into his sleeping attire. Mary was doing the same. As both were getting their clothes ready, Tōboe was still lying on his bed. He turned in his sleep. Everyone heard it, but let it aside as it was nighttime.

"I can't find my pants." Daniel had been looking blindly on the floor, trying to feel where he left it. "Can someone turn on the light?"

"Just use you Scroll. It should be enough light."

"I can't see still. It's probably under the bed." Holding out his device, Daniel peered underneath his bed. There wasn't his pants. "It's not here. Just turn it on." Mary gave in to his pleading and flipped on the switch. The room filled with dim yellow light and there Daniel was able to see. "Thanks." He looked further under his bed, peering his head further underneath. "Still not in here, " his voice muffled under the bed.

Mary wasn't paying attention to him. She saw another body in their room, in their missing fourth's bed. What was more astonishing was she saw two limbs, or what she thought were two limbs, sticking out from the cover sheet. This person was clothed, his daily wardrobe still on, but they wore no socks. What confused her was that their shoes, or foot, was covered in fur and pads, that resembling a dog. The other limp wasn't like the strange foot. It was completely covered in fur, but it could be their hair, she thought.

"Nope, maybe it's…" he stood up from the ground and saw Mary looking at the lamp on the previously empty bed. "What the?" He noticed the figure's leg coming out from the sheet. "That...is that?" Mary shook her head yes. Both of them were looking where Tōboe slept. Daniel turned to Naito, "Hey, wake up." He was pushing on his shoulder. Naito didn't want to get up, he groaned and pushed Daniel away. "This is important." He didn't want to wake up.

"Leave him, "said Mary calmly. She wore her night gown as Daniel could see. It too was colored yellowish. "We can leave this until the morning. We need to sleep."

He didn't respond to that. He went search for his pants. He had found them underneath Tōboe's bed. Daniel remembered earlier that day, he had left them on someone else's bed, though not his own. Mary had turned off the lights and stood in the dark for a while, looking towards Tōboe. "What made you show up for once?"she whispered to herself. She then went to her bed, finally to sleep.

The morning sun was shining brightly outside, reaching near the top of the glass pane from inside. Naito was rolling over on his bed, nearing the edge. He stretched his legs and arms out, the bed sheet falling over. He leaned too far off and rolled over. He didn't yell or grunt. He was silent. Naito fell on his face, then started to get up. THe sun was beaming over his face, a dark shadow next to it. He stood up, rubbing his left eye, covering his right. "So, you're the first to wake up." Naito was drowsy, but he knew that was an unfamiliar voice. "I guess I should know my teammate's name afterall, I should be so rude." Naito walked over to the window, his eye being covered. He looked at the dark figure, until his eye could adjust.

"So you decide to show up. We've been trying to figure out why you didn't show up. So," he opened the other window pane, letting in some air. He sat on the ledge of the window as well. "Is there something you want to explain?"

"I actually came here last night, waiting for the three of you to come back. I waited for as long as I could, before I went to bed. You'll have to forgive me." Naito's eyes were adjusting to the light. He was looking at a hooded figure.

"So you do hide your face. I only heard it as a rumor, but now that I see it…" Tōboe looked at Naito and his blind eye. "I've made a guess that you are a Faunus. That is why you're hiding your face." It went silent for a while. "Was I wrong?"

"No," Tōboe answered, "You weren't wrong. You're right." He chuckled underneath his breath.

"What's the joke?" I don't see anything funny," he said sternly.

"It's just my personality. I just laugh out of no where sometimes." Naito didn't move.

"I already have my own judgement against you, Faunus." He started to say.

"As a coward?"

"No, as a hypocrite. If you must know, I have a grudge against the Faunus."

"I see."

"I don't feel any real obligation to help you after these four years."

"I understand."

I will help you, you will help me, and the rest of the team will do what they do to condition themselves to the situation. We don't want you to be slacking behind us, just because you came to us late for having ears or a tail. You understand?"

"I do, but answer this question. I'm curious right now, what is your grudge against normal Faunus?"

"I hold a grudge against their methods of peace."

"I noticed that you didn't repeat 'normal.' "

"Why would I?"

"If it'll ease yourself, I'm not part of the White Fang, if that is who you hold a grudge against. I never cared for equality of our species since I feel I would be an outsider still." Tōboe turned to Natio. "Do you understand?"

"I understand that you're not part of the White Fang. That is all."

"So you don't understand why I'm an outsider?"

"I can't understand why. Were you a troubled child? Are you anti-social?"

"No, I was fine as a kid, but it's how I look." Tōboe turned back looking out towards the sky. "I know, I know, 'You're only ears or tails. How can it be how you look?' Really it's a little more than that."

"Why don't you take off your hood then? Show me what makes you so special?"

Tōboe smiled underneath. "Who do you hold a grudge against?" The White Fang or the Faunus?"

"The White Fang and the Faunus who think like them."

"You'll have no worries with me then." Tōboe held out his hand at Naito. He looked down confused at the gesture. "I want you to rest at ease. I'm not evil. I was alone without friends most of my life. That doesn't mean I can make new ones."

Naito looked at Tōboe. "Not yet, you need time before we except you." He took his hand back.

"Alright. I guess I should show myself now." He put his hand back on his hood. "Just tell me, if you don't believe what you see." He didn't hesitate unlike last night. He took it off in an instant. Naito did react calmly, though his eyes flickered. He was resisting the urge to make a facial expression. Tōboe was looking back at him, his eyes peering into Naito's. "I see you have a scar on your face. Look what I have to live with then." He held his hand to his face. He was grinning.

"Are you...like this always?" Naito managed to say. "Laughing for no apparent reason?"

"If you want to look at it from a doctor's point of view, it's just me being a healthy person, letting out all of his depression out." Tōboe's ears perked back. "When you have someone to talk to, you can relieve some stress." His tail lifted up from behind and laid itself over the window sill. Naito was surprised by the tail.

"You...have a tail too?"

"Yeah, I'm not normal, didn't you get that?"

He looked at Tōboe to understand what he was. He's seeing a talking animal for all he can figure, but it speaks like a Human, acts as if its a Faunus. What is this kind of trickery? In a sudden reaction, Naito latched his hand onto Tōboe's muzzle and pulled. His head and body moved as one. His eyes widened realizing it was an actual skull. This was an actual being that appeal in the form of an animal. He let go.

Tōboe rubbed his muzzle from the sudden pulling. "Yes, it is real." He shook his head after, somewhat resemblant of a dog.

Naito only looked at him amazed now. "...so you are real...you are a different kind of Faunus."

"This is why I kept hidden." He grinned slightly. "I already had faced different reactions to my appearance, even from my own people. Have you ever been beaten by both a Human and a Faunus? Neither have I, but I know they wanted to. Their pride in their race prevented that. I had very few friends, they were all older and were sympathetic to me. They gave me a chance. Here at Beacon, knowing almost all the students were Human, I had asked Ozpin if I could stay hidden, though I still didn't show my face to him then."

"And you expect me to beat you up for having a face of a dog."

"Wolf actually. I'm a wolf species." He looked at Naito, his face more serious than before. "So now that you've seen me, tell me your honest opinion. Are you surprised? Do you want to toss me out the window? What do you feel?"

He stayed silent for a long period of time. "I don't care. A Faunus is a Faunus, no matter what they look like."

"I see, I understand." Tōboe would be lying if he said that's the answer he wanted to hear, but it wasn't. He wanted something more profound than just I don't care.

"I think you look unique," Both men turned to see Mary standing behind them. She had her eyes normal, not dilated or enlarged. She wasn't frightened, shock, surprised, cringing, nothing. She spoke normally. "There really isn't much to be ashamed about. You're different from the rest of us, but really there isn't nothing to find from us."

Tōboe looked highly confused, as well as Naito. "You," Tōboe said in a high tone, "were raised in a very tolerate family weren't you? 'There isn't much to be ashamed about.' Did you hear yourself there? Do you see the same thing as him?" He pointed at Naito. He was looking at Mary with as much confusion as Tōboe.

She went and sat at her bed. "No, I wasn't. I was raised to learn how to forgive others and console them." She looked at Tōboe. "I don't see you as a freak as you make yourself out to be, or how other people do. You're just a unique person is all."  
Tōboe climbed down from the window sill and walked to the center of the room, facing Mary. "You've seen me." He held out his arms and made a full turn, showing her very aspect of his person. "And yet you don't discriminate against me." He looked down, somewhat smiling. "If only there were people like you when I needed them."

Naito came down from where he was as well, sitting by Mary. She looked at Tōboe, then at Naito. "You haven't told him I'm guessing?" Naito looked down.

"What hasn't he told me then?"

She looked at him. "That he has a Faunus girlfriend, one that is with the White Fang. He loves her too." Tōboe didn't react as she thought. He simply smiled out of awkwardness.  
"Who do you judge?" he said to Naito. "Do you judge on past or present." He sat down chuckling to himself. "I don't even know what I'm saying anymore." Mary and Naito looked at each other, mystified.  
The three of them sat in the room silently, both Humans looking at the Faunus, still in a slight wonder of why he hid himself when his personality says otherwise. Why was this, they wondered. Why was this?

"MDNT couldn't be spelled with T." All four of them have introduced each other, now all settling in. They had all gathered in the courtyard, Tōboe covering himself in his hood again, still self-conscious of his appearance. Daniel was speaking to Tōboe. "Where did you even sleep all this time?"

"Alone on the rooftops of the dorms."

"And nobody ever saw you?"

"It wasn't that nobody saw me, but that I was hidden well." He sat on the ledge of the planter, looking over at Daniel. "Most times I slept on the highest roof out there."

"What did you eat?"

"I ate like the rest of you actually, just alone."

"But if you wanted to stay hidden so long, why now all of a sudden."  
"Ozpin forced me to." He scrunched his face. "Either this or leave Beacon. I wanted to wait longer before doing this though."  
"Oh. You were forced into doing this then."

"It's not that bad really. Sometimes you need a push to get over your depression."

"I don't even think you have depression just by looking at you now."

Tōboe turned over to Daniel, raising up his right sleeve. There were scars of flesh torn across the forearm, some wider than others. "Not all of them were from self-infliction, but you get the idea." He lowered his sleeve again. "Being constantly rejected at an early age, you can do stupid things, believe me, it's not pretty. It wasn't even the worst one I had done."

Daniel looked gravely at Tōboe afterwards. "How...is it that you're still alive then?"

"To be truthful, I'm not sure. I had friends only for a short time, Faunus friends. Before that, I had maybe one animal friend, if you can call it an animal."

Daniel had leaned in on that last sentence. "Why do you say that? It can't be that bad?"

"I made friends with a Beowolf."

Daniel's expression dropped to near death, he turned as white as his tie. His breathing had stopped, air caught in his lungs, eyes were dilating and his jaw practically unhinged. He couldn't breathe. He literally couldn't breathe. Tōboe came over and told him to calm down and let in air, for him to breath slowly. It was a minute before he could actually do this.

Air was rushing into him now. It was from shock that he made such an exaggeration. "Tell me…how that is even…..possible," he said with deep breaths in between.

"It wasn't intentional," Tōboe began. "I was still young then. I had cut myself alone in the woods. That place was my safe place, but there was also a place where I would be in danger. When I did cut myself, it attracted the attention of a Beowolf. It smelled blood, and thought I was a wounded animal or something, but it didn't attack me. It confused me as one of its own, thought it's obvious that I am not one of them. I mean, look at me." He stopped to wave his hands around himself. "I found out a little after that newborns look similar to me, so it would explain why it didn't attack me. I was confused, especially since I was dressed in civilian clothing, but that was because they covered the young who haven't grown to the climate.

"It was an interesting experience being taken in like that, though I could leave and come however I wished. That's what I did. There was one Beowolf then, I'm not sure if it is still alive now with Hunters living in my region recently, that I had always 'played with' in a sense. During that time...I had learned to speak their language. Really it isn't a language as much it is their way of communicating. While they speak only through howls and growls, I learned their gestures, so I can let them be however I wanted, only for a time. The more enraged would challenge me, and I fought back the best I could, but unlike how the schools portray them, they do have a limit with their own. Their way of living was relying on each other, seeing how many one Hunter could kill. They could kill an entire pack of 20 without any effort."

"And yet you live now to kill them. The irony of it all."

Tōboe looked at him. "No, it isn't. I'm not going to kill them, even if I see them in the forest. I still have ties to them, I still consider them friends, if not family."

Daniel is far beyond mystified at him. "Family? Those beasts as family? Those Grim, the same ones that have been trying time and time again to kill all of humanity, family?"  
"Yes," he closed his eyes and lowered his head. "They're still family in a sense for me. When everyone who came into contact with me shun me away, they still treated me as one of their own. It kept me alive if that means anything." He opened his eyes and leaned forward towards Daniel. "Were you to believe me if I said I learned to fight like them?"  
Daniel was staring blankly at Tōboe. Hearing all this from one person, he thought it was just a story, one made-up fable of some sort. "Alive...that's how you describe it? They kept you alive. Really? I may be older than you, but I'm not that different from any 17 year old around." He crossed his arms. "I don't believe you as a matter of fact. Hearing your story of rejection, depression, and acceptance to a pack of Beowolves? Even more, that they kept you alive? That just sound more absurd than me saying I blew up the moon."

Tōboe looked back dully. He shook his head and sighed. "Daniel, you don't have to believe if you want. I know really what I did and what I do. I can even decapitate you right now if I wanted."

"That I can believe."

"But I learn how from the Beowolves." Daniel stared back annoyed, Tōboe smiled back underneath. "I was joking about that one. I learned that on my own."

"Just take off that hood, I can't take you seriously with it on." Tōboe had raised his head and surveyed the area around him. He didn't see anyone nearby. He lowered his hood, revealing his fur covered face once more.

"At least you're opening yourself to your team, like you wanted to right?" The two of them had turned facing Ozpin. He was sipping his usual cup of coffee, though it was nearing midday, no longer the appropriate time for coffee.

"Where did you come from?" Tōboe was confused since he saw absolutely no one other than his teammates.

"That's not of importance." He adjusted his spectacles. "What is important is that you're getting along with your team. I just came along to check up on you specifically." He focused his eyes onto Tōboe.

"I'm only here now since you pushed me to do this."

"Right. Either ways, you have to do this now that there is an upcoming assignment for teams throughout Beacon. All teams are required to be present, all of them. They are being put through another hard endurance test, that being in the forest for the remainder of the week. As a faculty, we will provide the basic survival necessities, that consisting of containers and kits, but nothing else. The rest will have to be salvaged during your time there, including food." He looked over at Tōboe. "I overheard your story yesterday and what you have told Daniel. There's more than meets the eye isn't there?" Tōboe's ears lowered themselves as Ozpin had told him. "This activity is meant to put everyone's talents to use, both practical and efficient. I don't believe your talent with Beowolves will help you here Tōboe. This isn't home any longer. These Grim differ from those where you are from. If you believe that'll keep your team safe from Beowolves, I feel you will perish greatly."

"Isn't the school responsible for the deaths of students?" Daniel spoke up.

"Beacon Academy is responsible solely for the higher education and training of their students. There is no evidence that show we were held responsible for deaths of the unprepared students. Furthermore, there haven't been a reported death since the opening of this faculty. I assure you this is accredited to our methods of training that allow our students to succeed in these real-life situation. Evidently, these situations will prove useful in other events should it arise." He adjusted his glasses again. "I'll leave the four of you be." Ozpin had then walked past them, also acknowledging the presence of Naito and Mary.

Mary and Naito approached Daniel and Tōboe. "He doesn't sound like himself lately," Mary started. "He's normally more supportive, unlike this. I had an older brother graduate from here. Ozpin was more uplifting, more like a father figure then now."

"I heard from other students," Naito was intervening, "that a few days back that some of the students were caught in the middle of a heist. That could be worrying him. All I know was when the police arrived, it was the White Fang's fault. Two students were involved. That's all I heard."

Tōboe walked off to the side of the conversation. The rest of the team was chatting about Ozpin. He sat down on a bench and looked up to the sky. It was a beautiful day. "One week in the forest," he said to himself. "I wonder who else will be coming along."


	4. Chapter 4

"You stand here again where you had stood at the beginning of your time spent here in Beacon. I assume you are all familiar with our customs here, are we not?" Ozpin addressed the several teams gathered around the cliffside near the Emerald Forest. All of the first year students were participating in this activity, though it was announced that later on, second to fourth year students will also be completing this activity, in another location. Team RWBY as Tōboe had remember was standing over by another team. He couldn't recall who they were, but the red-tipped haired girl was talking to a blonde male. Strangely enough, he didn't seem to all that well-coordinated.

Several other teams too were surrounding the cliff, maybe 20 teams in all. Team MDNT saw a wide variation of students, along with their weapons. Some with nunchucks combined with sheathed blades, a few with rifles that transformed to blades, some explosive ammunition carried around and those who didn't progress with technology and had only a melee weapon, commonly a one-handed blade of some sort. It did seem obvious that several teams felt more superior to another as they appeared to be boasting about their teamwork. In reality, they're all on the same level of experience approximately, while a few single students could possess such skills as they claim to have.

"Everyone of you will be put to a test, a test of endurance, strength, knowledge, and most importantly collaboration." His voice was above all other present. "The assignment is simple, survive on your own as a team for one week's time. Some of you may not like this assignment, others may bask in it, though it should not be a major obstacle in this assignment. I assure you that everything will be alright. No one will die, if that was of anyone's concern, during your time in the Emerald Forest. As a safeguard, we will be monitoring all your situations should anything drastic arise. Before the faculty proceeds to take action, we will expect your team or nearby students to assist as arrival may vary on the situation and location. I wish you all good luck on your journey back into the forest." He paused to think for a moment, lowing his head slightly. "I should mention that the temple is merely a landmark as of now. No aid will be found to those seeking it there."

He saw some students raising their hands to ask questions. "If your question is how you're going to enter, it is the same as before." Two hands fell. "Yes, Gerald?" He referred to a student near the back.

"You said we gather food from the forest right?"

"That is correct."

"What's there to eat?"

"In specific, many bushes in the forest have edible berries and leaves if their are not poisonous. Some smaller animals roam in the forest, such as rabbits or raccoons if any, just to name a few. In general, find anything, eat anything."

Several more hands feel, leaving one left. "Yes Alexia?"

She was groups with other girls in the back. "What situations would be considered drastic?"

"Drastic by my definition involves massive amounts of blood loss or torn limbs. Scratches, cuts, tears, blindness, loss of hearing are examples of what is not drastic."

"How is loss of hearing and blindness not drastic?"

"The nature of the Grimm is not that involving the act of tearing at one's face. In all cases of deaf and blind situations arising within the ground, they are all temporary. None of those effects are permanent and last less than nine hours on average. You should be informed of this within your studies, that is if you read." The student looks away embarrassed. "Are there anymore questions?" All the students were murmuring, but none had risen their hand. "Very well then. I wish to you all good luck."

Several platforms began to fling random students in different directions. It became obvious that the goal also was to relocate your teammates and survive the week. Teams were being tossed left and right. Team MDNT was talking in the moments before launch. "Where are we going to meet?" asked Tōboe first of all.

"The temple. We've all been there, we'll meet there and find shelter after," answered Naito. Daniel was looking nervous. Mary looked over at him and asked what's wrong.

"I didn't like the first launch. My landing wasn't great."

Tōboe smiled underneath his hood. "I didn't land great either, and without a weapon like the rest of you."

As they all stared at Tōboe for saying such a thing, they all were flung away. They all flew airborne in different direction, though it appeared that Daniel and Mary were flying together towards a visible water spot. Naito was higher up in the air, his path of motion pushing him towards a shrouded area. Tōboe though strayed from them all. He was falling far beyond the edge of the forest.

Daniel held out his rapier and slashed through the branches, falling through without a scratch. He landed on his feet and slid on the dirt before the waterfront. Mary fell also behind him, but she shot through the branches and slowed her fall by jumping off the tree trunks. On her fifth tree, she landed on the ground, away from the water.

Both members walked towards each other, looking around. Several yells and screams were heard overhead. They both looked up to see several students either flailing their arms about or moving with the wind. One student created platforms to lessen the fall using Dust so it seems. The rest would be falling shortly, and in the most possible scenario, nearby.  
Daniel retracted his rapier back to it's sheath. "So then...now where?"

Mary looked around briefly. "Water first, we need to get some first, then start heading towards the temple." She walked over to the little pond of water. "When we all meet up at the temple, we then start moving out to find a safe place to settle in. Ruins possibly, but more likely an open area in the forest." Mary took out her water container from her pack. "There's no telling what will happen out here now. At least we need to be prepared."

Daniel walked over to her as well to get water. "That's not my worry. It's Tōboe. He's gonna be out there, only a hood keeping him from showing who he really is. He said he was depressed already, anymore and he just might lose it. I just hope he'll be alright."

She smiled. "And here I thought you'd be the heartless one."

"Hey!" He looked over. "I may be sarcastic and all, but I still care for that guy, even if he's a Faunus."

She smiled at him, and he looked back awkwardly.

They both got up afterwards. Both of them were walking into the forest. "What about yourself," asked Mary. "You feel you would survive?"

"If you want to truth, not really. Only thing I got is my suit, that isn't much now is it?"

"What about your skills?"

"What about them?"  
"You have any?"

Daniel pulled out his weapon. The rapier morphed into a sniper rifle. "All I have is this, a simple rifle where I can shoot from wherever I want. I usually make the shot in one hit, don't need more than two in most cases. If i need to, I go on to do hand-to-hand combat. Just cut them up one by one."

"Okay, but you don't have any other skills?"

Daniel looked at her confused. "Ah….no. I guess not."

"We're not a very well balanced team are we?"

"Guess not. I guess not."

Trees were falling down one by one as Naito's Daishō slices through them. "Is that enough?" He was talking to himself, as if someone else was there. He was thinking out loud. "Yeah, that should be plenty." He further cut through the trunks into smaller logs. He only carried what he could on his back, five logs. "To the temple...I hope a tempest doesn't arise."

He began to walk on foot towards what he thought was the direction of the temple, and he heard voices. A team was beginning to assemble.

"Where are the others?" he heard one voice say.

"I don't know. I really don't know. I just saw them flying all over the place. It just became crazy."

"We better find them. This area is infested with Grim. I just know it."

Those voices faded off as Naito continued to walk. In his mind, he began to think about what there is to come further this night, should on of them stay on guard, should they all sleep safely, is there such thing as security here? These questions he asked himself if they were vital or not.  
Suddenly a girl passed by in front of him. She was Human, but barely he could tell. She didn't notice him, but she was running away from something. In an instant an Ursa was chasing after her. Naito didn't flinch much. He wasn't the target for the Ursa. Already the amount of danger was set. There's wasn't much to figure out except how you're going to survive.

The moment he took a step, yet another Ursa appeared out of the trees. It looked at Naito instead. He caught hold of his sword, waiting for it to charge. It lunged forward, holding one of its paws high up to attempt a slash. Naito didn't allow for it to happen. One swing of his sword had cut across its hand. It didn't stop charging. Naito stepped over to the right and jumped out of the way. It stopped and looked down at its severed hand. It looked back at Naito enraged, but he was calm. It left out a roar, then lunged forth. Naito leaped forth and drove his sword inside the Ursa's head. He jumped off and let the animal fall.

He landed back on his feet and watched as black smoke emitted from its wounds. What created these fumes he wouldn't understand, not yet. Walk back to the defeated beast, he pulled his sword from it. Still, he didn't mind what had happened. Ursa and other predators its size weren't hard to deal with. In groups and in larger sizes, that is when it becomes difficult.

"Get the hell away from me!" A cluster of Ursas were gathering around Tōboe. He had his fists buried within one Ursa, he didn't need more of them. Two of them lunged forth, he leaped out of the way. One landed and stayed put, the other continued moving forth towards him. He backed away from it's swipes and kept moving back. Another came after, accompanying with its jaws reaching out. Tōboe wasn't able to run any further. He pushed forward. He leaped into the air and over the Ursas. One of them hit him on the back and he flew towards a tree. He felt the tree trunk hard against his back.

He stood up. Now three Ursas approaching. His back was against the trunk. One lunged forward. Tōboe counterattacked. As it's head came in, he thrusting his claws into its open mouth. It went through and he bite into it's eyes. It shook widely as his hand was still inside of it. He was tossed about as it spasmed. It fell and laid flat on its side, smoke coming out of its head. Tōboe pulled out and turned to face the other Ursas. Two more appeared, creating a set of four. "You got to be kidding…" He ran forward and dashed passed them, but not quick enough.

A sharp pain inflicted on his back. He was thrown over on his side. He was looking up, just looking...helplessly. He couldn't react fast enough if he wanted to. Four Ursas, gazing upon him, and yet they still advance slowly.

Several gunshots were fired from afar, the lead Ursa falling over. All of them turned in rebellion towards the new threat, and another fell to a blade tearing through its head. He only saw the blade being pulled back. What was going on, he thought. Who was there. The remaining Ursas left into the woods, in the direction of where he heard the shots fired. He heard roars, blasts from a weapon and soon silence. Who was there.

Footsteps, he felt them coming near, but he couldn't get himself up. He was only scratched he thought. It was only in his head, the pain out here. His head turned over and looked over at the person. So familiar her bow was, and yet she looked sternly over at him. "Alone and no weapon, that isn't going to get you far."

She held out a hand to him, and yet he didn't reach for it immediately. He looked away ashamed, but took her hand. "I just couldn't handle all of them." He stood up, then cringing with the sudden pulse of pain through his back. "I just couldn't handle them all at once."

"Save it, you need your team." Blake's voice still as solid as before. "Why did you come here without a weapon? You have no blade, no gun, no real chance of surviving." She looked at his back, there was a deep gash on his left side, no where near his spine. "You're just lucky it missed shattering your spine."

"Lucky is far from the truth. Stupid is what I am." He stood up, attempting to stand straight, but couldn't. His hood was torn off from his clothing, his ear had some blood trickling down.

"But without a weapon, you can't just rely just on your own hands and feet."

"I never learned to use a sword or knife." He explained. "Maybe because I grew up with fangs and claws than a blade." He looked around. "Ursas don't fear Beowolves, they compete with one another for food. I just couldn't handle that many, not now anyways."

"I heard you fighting, I saw what you did. I know you're strong to a point, but if I hadn't gone out there…"

"I would've died." There was silence for a bit.

"Exactly."

"You're here alone too, so where's your team?"

"They're all scattered I guess. We'll find a way to meet again. You...you can't be left alone right now."

"I can be alone, for one night." He grunted through his teeth as he tried to move and felt a pulse running through his back. "My only concern...is not running into any others."

"The students will mistake you for one of the Grimm you realize? Even if you are smaller than them."

"I know that. I don't plan for that to happen, but if it does…" He fell to his knee, unable to stand straight. Blake had to wrap an arm around him from his right. She was looking over at him with concern.

"You're coming with me. You can't just stay out here alone." Her concern over him was genuine, in a way, though it was only built off their only encounter. Still in that moment she understood what he was, even if he didn't explain himself very well.

"I...you don't have to do this."

"Believe me, you need help."

"No, I'm fine. It's fine."

"I'm going to help you, you can't even stand." He was resisting out of fear with her team. It was hard enough for him to reveal himself to her first of all, it became only less challenging when he show his face to his team. Now for more students. He wasn't sure whether or not he'd be able to. He didn't know.

Daniel sat around on a branch scouting the area. "I don't see anyone out there." It wasn't long when the sun reached past noon that they arrived at the Ruins. As Ozpin had said, it was merely a landmark, no help was given there. Mary and Daniel had been waiting in the tree to not attracted any attention from the Grimm, or aggressive students. "They couldn't have gotten lost that far right? So where are they?" He lowered his gun and looked down at Mary. She had her arms on her waist.

"I don't know what might have happened. Naito, he should be fine, but it's Tōboe that we need to worry about."

Something ran through his mind again, concerning that one person. Was he even reliable anymore. Was he even to begin with...was he anything? Who was he? "I don't even know the guy," he raised his rifle again, peering through the scope, "why should I worry so much for him? He's just a weird Faunus is all."

"Daniel! Don't say that."

"But you know it's true. He's some weird freak of nature that wants to hide himself because he's an animal. The fact he even says that Beowolves took care of him make him weirder than normal, to think anyone can be friends with one."

"Beowolves? He said that?"

He looked down at her again. "Yeah, a few days ago when Ozpin came out of nowhere. He told me he was suicidal and that Beowolves befriended him since he looked close to a younger version of them. I think that's a bunch of crap if you ask me."

"What do you mean? You don't believe it?"

He shook his head. "You believe in that? Come on, are you serious? He said he cuts himself because of being rejected, that I can believe. He said he was raised by Beowolves and learned how to fight like them, BY THEM!"

"And what is so wrong with that? Don't we all learn from somewhere?"

"Mary, are you listening to yourself? Raised. By. Beo. Wolves. What don't you get? That is a huge impossibility to have for anyone. Why is he even here at Beacon if he was to kill them eventually? I don't understand him."

"Maybe you don't have to understand, has that even occurred to you?"

"Mary."

"No Daniel, it hasn't. I believe in second chances, I believe in other people. That's how I was raised. I don't care if he's a Faunus, a Human, a criminal or a psychopath. He deserves a second chance, doesn't everyone?" He walked away irritated.

Daniel jumped down from the tree and walked over. "Mary, why are you so stubborn about this?" She still was walking away. "Mary?" He walked faster and grabbed her shoulder. She stopped. "Why are you so stubborn?"

She didn't answer immediately. There was a long pause. "He needs someone to look after him. He doesn't need to be alone forever."

Naito reached a clearing, seeing the familiar sights of the pedestals where the pieces were. Daniel and Mary sitting by one side of the walls encircling the area. He waved hello, but soon saw they worried faces. He reacted the same. "Where's Tōboe?"

"We don't know. He never showed." Mary stood up. The skys were orange, fading towards the night. "We have to hope he didn't get injured, or lost his way."

"Did anyone else come near here?"

"No, except for one student looking for their team. Other than that, nothing, not even a Grimm showed. It's been surprisingly quiet here."

Naito dropped his belongings. "I brought wood, that's it. We can make fire for tonight if we need to." He looked up. "Are you sure you heard nothing from Tōboe?"

"She said no." Daniel bluntly said. "As far as I know, he left us to be on his own with his wolf family." He appeared angered at something other than Tōboe, Naito noticed. Even so, Tōboe wasn't the most likely to be alone in a forest full of Grimm at night.

He walked over towards Daniel. "What's your problem?" He said this aggressively.

"We have a delusional, suicidal Faunus on our team. How do you think I feel?"

"Stand up."

"What?"

"Stand. Up." Naito held firm with his order.

Daniel sat still. "I don't have to listen to you. You're not the leader." He was lifted up by his necktie.

"Listen carefully, you may not like it, I am giving him a chance. You should too since he's a part of this team." Daniel pushed Naito's arms away, becoming free. He straightened his tie.

"I don't have to give him anything. He was just put into this team. Ever since I heard his story of how he grew up and how he's part of another family, he just make me mad. I want to care for him, but he's far too into his imagination. He's a kid." He sighed heavily. "I don't want to work with him if he's that disillusioned about the world around him. He needs to know that!"

"Why aren't you giving him a chance is what I'm asking. He is as much a person as anyone of us. Even I'm giving him a chance, and I'm the one who dislikes Faunus the most."

"It's not the fact that he's a Faunus that is bothering me. It's his lying that is bothering me." Daniel looked at Naito angered. "He's a liar. He may be suicidal, but having to make lies for us to like him, just so he would have a reason to live. He wants me, he wants us, to believe him, everything he says is supposedly the truth, his entire life sounds like a fairy tale or someone's fantasy. I can understand he has been isolated, but to became part of a pack of Beowolves, to fight with and like them, to learn their tongue, to live the rest of his time at the village with them, it sounds like he has more serious issues than he wants to say." He raised sleeve. "He showed me like this his cuts. They are real, I know what self inflicted wounds look like. There were more scars on him though. They were teeth masked and scratches. They didn't look like he was with them as a friend, but was fighting against them, for safety I guess." Daniel rolled down his sleeve and let out a sigh. "Not one person I've heard of, has ever decided to befriend the Grimm. Not one. For him to do the impossible is unlikely. That is how reality works."

Daniel went back to sitting down where we was. Naito looking down at him again, then back to Mary. "...will he be fine on his own?"

"He can see in the dark, I'm sure of that." she answered. "How will he find us, I don't know."

"First night and he's alone. God I hope he's alright."

Mary looked over at his serious attitude over the matter. He did give him a chance, and she smiled.

Tōboe was looking down ashamed for the last several hours now into the night, Blake still by his side. He was walking now, his injury had lessened, but still he was in pain. "Sorry again, for not wanting your help."

"I know. You've said it about 34 times before."

"I can't help it."

"I just want to know what were you thinking fighting without a weapon."

"I said before, I learned with my teeth, not with my hands. I don't carry a gun or sword, a knife or whatever."

"I don't understand that, but you have your own way, I guess." She stopped for a moment and examined Tōboe. "Your wound has stopped bleeding, but it still looks serious."

"I don't feel a thing. Is that good?"

"No, that's bad. You shouldn't be out here at all if you can't fight on your own."

"Blake, I can fight. You saw me just get overwhelmed." He leaned on a tree on his right side. "I learned what you saw from Beowolves if you could guess."  
She rolled her eyes, whether this was an attempt at redeeming himself or wanting to impress her. Either way, she didn't believe a word he said. "Tōboe, you seem well rounded, but why do you insist that you can be on your own, or become a Hunter just by using your fists?"

He looked over at her glowing eye. "I didn't decide to become a Hunter since I was born like most students. I became one overnight. I did my training at one of the schools, I was also an exception there like I am….was here. They let me pass, I am here now aren't I? This is was I set out to be."

Blake crossed her arms. "That I don't understand, the why you became one. I know you said you wanted to belong, but...why like this? There must be a definite reason for becoming a Hunter."

"There doesn't need to be a reason for everything. Some things, are just meant to be."  
"And why do you insist on constantly saying you were with Beowolves?"

"Blake, that's the only thing I have to hold on to now. Even if you don't believe me, I will

keep telling myself that, I was raised by Beowolves. "

He lowered his head, and spoke faintly, "I was raised by Beowolves.

"I was raised by Beowolves.

"I was raised by Beowolves." He looked up from his trance and look over at Blake for

understanding.

"They are part of my family, and I love them as much as I do a brother or a sister."

Blake lowered her eyelids, still not that convinced of such a thing. "Without them, you would be what really?"

"I'd be dead Blake. You don't know what I've been through."

"No, I don't know. I never will. I can see what you are, but I can never experience what you've been through."

"Will you understand then, why I need them?"

"But Tōboe..."

"You don't believe me. I know. Everytime I tell this, no one will believe me. I know it's true, just trust me on this. Please, as a Faunus?"

Blake turned away, still skeptic on his word. Yes, he is a Faunus, but even they know they can never cross over to the Grimm and befriend them like a brother. Even more, they can't be tamed. She shook her head, rejecting his word.

"What proof do you want at night? What do you think Beowolves are? Evil? Corrupt? Mindless? Just tell me…" He chuckled to himself. "Did you ever think, that they are just like us?"

Blake's attention was held on to that. "Do I think that they are like us?" He nodded, only once. "No...that's not possible. They aren't like us in the slightest bit."

"I see." He closed his eyes and held his head up. "At least, I can still tell them, I am here."

She looked at him strangely at his fixed position. "What are you…" He let in the air, and released it in the form of a howl. This wasn't like any howl Blake heard before from Beowolves, it was more welcoming than threatening, that is if Beowolves howled like him. The pitch of the howl shifted only slightly near its end, then it faded to silence. He lasted for fifteen seconds. She looked at him fixed with a stare of insanity. "What did you just do?"

"I told them I was here."

"Why would you do that?"

"To tell them...I'm here." Another howl was heard in the distance. It sounded identical to what Tōboe had howled. Blake was listening with awe. Another howl joined in from another part of the forest, then another, then another, and then another. It became a brief orchestra of sounds, all of which felt warm internally. Then it fell silent. She looked again at him, he was staring up to the night sky, now bewildered, yet intrigued at what he did. "They say hello, they welcomed me to their forest."

"Did they? Is that...what they said?" She walked closer to him. "Can you understand them?"

"Yes. I grew up with them, didn't I? I know how to speak with them too, verbally and physically. I can understand only Beowolves, how they talk to other Grimm, if they do, I don't even know. I can only protect myself for so long with the Beowolves, since I am not them. Even then, they still wish to challenge their dominance against others, including Humans, Faunus, or their own kind. I can defend my team maybe, if they accept what I am and what I say to them. Maybe not..." He looked down at Blake again, his yellow eyes looking into hers. "Do you believe me now?"

"I…" She shook her head. "We should settle down for the night...it's gotten late now…"

The students all heard them, no one missed those howls.

"What was that? Something howling?"

"The Beowolves are awake tonight...they will be hunting us while we sleep."

"I don't want to fight them."

"Who was it that howled…"

"I wonder if…that was him...if that was Tōboe"


	5. Chapter 5

The sun began to rise that morning, a mist blanketing over the forest. The air was cool from last night's sudden chill, but now was a new day, the first true day inside the forest. Several of the teams had reunited with at least one member of their group, only few have found all of their members. The Emerald Forest was only being welcoming for the time being. The Grimm know of the students' presence in their domain, they know what they are here for, what they are to do, and what to defend against.  
They've met the few students, the ones that escaped. Year after year, they face the same threats anew, and year after year it became the same routine. They still wait for the day they will claim one human, one Faunus or a mixture of the two. That is one of many reasons for wanting to live in this forest which they have called home, but overall it is a place where they are kept, not by choice do they stay.  
They are waiting...and they want flesh.

* * *

Tōboe's condition wasn't getting better. Since last night, his breathing had gotten shallow and in fast breaths. Blake look over him to see how much longer he would last. She needed to find her team, and fast.  
"Tōboe…Tōboe?" His eyes were closed, but he was clearly sweating in his sleep. She laid a hand over his forehead. It felt warm, but she couldn't tell if that is how it suppose to be. He was covered in fur, wasn't it meant to keep him warm?  
His wound from yesterday was bandaged with what they were given, that is all they could do for the time being. His jacket was covering the wounds, it no longer existent in any way possible. Having no real experience where cuts were so grave, she only did what she thought could help, and that was covering the wounds.

"Why do you insist that you'll be fine on your own?" asked Blake last night. A still active Tōboe looking at her as she gripped his side, walking underneath the moonlight.

"I want to be alone again...I don't know really anymore…maybe to prove...something to the others. The students, the Humans...to prove something I guess."

"How do you even plan on being alone when you can't fight by yourself?"

"I could fight…" he cringed as a sudden surge of pain ran through his side. Blake remembered moving her hand near it, but he pushed her hand out of the way. "Don't worry about me. This isn't anything to be worried about."

It was possibly an hour later that he told her again about the Beowolves, and then when he howled. She still is pondering this in her mind, just what did he do. If he could speak with them, then what was it that he said to them. Was it a cry for help? What it what he said, a welcoming to their forest? Or was it a lie, he just howled a tune, one that Beowolves knew and that they responded as if they were talking to another one of theirs, but weren't?

Returning to present time, she continued to look down at the helpless state he was in.  
"Tōboe…wake up…" She patted his left side of his face. His eyelids opened only a little. They were blurred, the image of Blake wasn't clear to him, but he remembered where he was at, and who he was with. "Wake up…" He closed his eyes again and moved his head over to the side. He wanted to sleep. She shook her head. "Now's not the time to get some sleep. I have to find my team so they can help you. Do you even know how serious your injury could be?"  
His back was turned away from her. "I do…" he said. "I just don't want to meet them."

"You can't be here alone."

"I know, I've heard that speech several times already."

"Then what will you do here then? I can't leave you like this."

"Please leave…" She didn't respond. "Your team is more important, isn't it?"

"They can wait for now."

"Even though...you're helping someone you barely even know?"  
There was a heavy sense of silence over them. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You're stubborn is what you really are. I want to help you, but you don't even want to except it. You really plan on being here alone, don't you?"  
"I won't be alone...I will have my team too, as well as my family, right?"

"But who really is who you want to be with Tōboe? You keep saying you want to make a difference for yourself, but you want to retreat to the Beowolves as a safe place. When do you think you will have to choose between the two?"  
Tōboe sat up, gritting his teeth as the pain was still there. He looked her dead in the eye. "Blake. I thank you for rescuing me, but I think it is best that you go and search for your team. I don't want to meet anyone else. I kept myself covered for my own appearance. These facts will always be coming back and I want you to know them. I don't want to see anyone else. My team is enough."

"But…"

"Blake." His voice had turned hard. "I want you to leave me alone. When I am in danger again is when I will let you get near me, but it isn't the time for that. You have a team to search for, don't you? You're not alone here, I am." He closed his eyes. "Just go Blake. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble, or waste any more of your time. Find your team, go and survive in this place, I will find mine eventually."

Blake stared back at him too with a serious tone, but hers was more angry than his. He is a stubborn wolf, just a dog if anything. Even as a Faunus, she felt he was being childish just for wanting to be alone and not meet anyone else but his team or herself. What is this? She's sure it is stupidity. "You want to be alone…fine." She looked away from him. "I'll stay away from you then. We don't have to talk to each other anymore then, if that's what you want here, to be alone."

He smiled. "Thank you." She lowered her eyebrows, finding that remark disgusting. "Go find your team, it won't be long until the sun rises."

"Can you tell me one last time, what do you plan on doing?"

He sighed. "I am going to find my team. I have someone to lead me there."

She shook her head. "Alright then...this is goodbye." He stood up from his place and walked over to her and held out his hand. She looked at it, then received his goodbye.

She walked away into the mist, her image turning black and fading away.

* * *

Tōboe walked over and sat down by the tree trunk. "I know that we said we were going to meet up at the Ruins, but...I need to do something first." He lifted his head back to the skies and stared only at the mist above him. It was thick for the time being, but it would clear in an hour or so. What to say, what to say? He repeated this question in his head, but really, he knew what to say. He needed help. He let out his howl to the forest, it echoing through the trees. It was far softer than before, it held the cry for help. He stopped and listened. Several howls came in response, one nearby, another in the far edge of the forest, and several lost in between. They were coming for him, to help him. He howled again, to let them know that he was not one of them. He waited. Several gunshots were fired from a distance. Morning had started, and so had the survival of the students.

Another howl responded to him. It was angered at him. It was questioning him, why is he speaking their language. Why is he asking for help. He looked down, to think, then howled again. He asked for reasoning with them. Tōboe said to them that he is not much different from them. He was raised by them. Silence came, but the bullets were still being fired in the haze from afar.  
A howl responded. Who ever it was, they were close. They gave him a warning, if he says what is the truth, that he and they are not that different, they will give him a chance, but only one.  
Tōboe waited by the tree, and awaited for one to come for him.

* * *

Mary awoke to the sounds of howling in the distance. "Tōboe!" She sat up from the stone ground listening to the sounds around her. The other teams, they were awake and fighting. She turned over to the others. Daniel and Naito both were sleeping still. She only woke up from hearing those howls. She knew that one of them had to be Tōboe. There couldn't be any other explanation. It has to be him.

"Tōboe, please be safe. Those howls...why do they sound so sad?" Mary looked towards the forest, her face saddened by what she heard. She couldn't understand the language spoke that by the Beowolves, but their howls, it felt as if it carried a sorrow message attached. Maybe she is imagining things. Whatever the case, they have to survive the week in this forest.

* * *

Tōboe slept again, lying on his right side where the wound isn't coming into contact with the dirt. He felt cold, he shivered as he slept.

He was dreaming only a little, of a place where he was with people like him. He felt happy, not being the only one anymore, yet he felt shy still in that fantasy world. Tōboe was naturally shy, even with the issue at hand. Many of the people he dreamt of, they were like him exactly. They were wolves too. He felt as if he belonged to a place, no harm coming his way, no more pain.

He turned in his dream, in front of him suddenly was Blake. She looked sad. Why was that, he thought. He reached out for her, but his hand went through. What was going on? He wanted to interact with her, but she was just an illusion. The people around him, they looked at her scornfully. What was going on?

He was looking around, all eyes on them, or specifically on her. They looked at her, just stared at her. She stared back only at Tōboe. "What's going on? What's happening." And was looking around, panicking in his dream. He stepped back, away from her. She only stared back. He walked back, kept moving in reverse. She was staring back, her eyes were hollow.

His last step was behind the crowd. He heard a scream…

He woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. His breathing was as rapid as before, and he sat up almost immediately. He looked down, his palms sweating and drops of perspiration falling from his forehead. "What was that," his voice shaking. "What did I just dream?" Tōboe wasn't sure, but he thought that...that Blake died in his dream. Did she or did she just scream? It felt...real.

He looked around him, still sweating. He was all alone, he remembered. He will always be alone. His breathing was still rapid, but his fears were building up. What he did, was scream. It was not his animal side that echoed through the woods, it was his voice, his human-like voice.

He put his head down, covering himself with his hands over his head. Some drops of water fell from his eyes, his lips were quivering and his voice in a broken succession of rapid breaths. "I don't want to be alone. I don't want to be alone." His fear had returned to him, that of what he tried so hard to hide. "I don't want to be alone. God, I don't want to be alone." His wound had opened again, some blood seeping through the rags and down his side. He felt the pain, but it only added on to his despair. He raised his head again and screamed as loudly as before. He was angry at himself, cursing that he was born what he was. He was sad, wanting to have a companion to be with, to ease his pain of solitude. He was distressed, having all this problems to bare. He didn't want this to hold. He wanted peace.

Steps were approaching the crying wolf, looking at his state. Tōboe had his ears lowered, his eyes were red from tears. He wasn't paying attention. The being moved closer, making noise with the bushes around it. The leaves make enough noise for Tōboe to noticed. His ears perked up and he turned towards the sound. There stood Blake once again. She looked down at him, with a face to console him.

He kept crying, his breathing not showing any rate of slowing down.

"Tōboe...I heard you screaming...and I thought." She looked at the blood stained ground he was sitting on. "Your wounds!"

He didn't pay attention to that. He wiped his nose. "Y-you should have g-g-gone to find y-your team." His voice was still shaking from emotion. Blake walked closer to him.

"Tōboe, were you alone?"

He looked blankly at the ground. "H-how far did you g-g-get?"

"Not far."

"Just go…" He sniffed. "You shouldn't have came back just for me." He was calming down from his crying.

"Tōboe, what could you have done?"

"I don't want to be alone…" he whispered. Blake heard him. "I don't want to die alone." He lowered her ears when he said that.

"Tōboe...I want to know. What was it that you yelled about?" He stayed silent. "Tōboe...are you scared...of being alone?" He nodded once. "You...don't feel like you belong, because of how you look?" He nodded again. "But, you don't want to make friends with Humans?" He shook his head slowly. "Then who do you want as friends?" He was silent. "Tōboe, when you told me to leave, you called them, didn't you? The Beowolves?" He nodded. "Why?"

He stood up and held onto his open wound, a sharp sting pulsed through him. He looked forward, Blake looking at his face. "Look with me." She was confused, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Just look with me." She turned and looked with him, directly in front of them. "Blake, I wanted you to leave, because I was going to call them, either way."

"You want to be with someone, even if it is an animal, right?"

"They I fell the most comfortable with Blake. If there was a place in the middle where animal and man could meet, I would be there, but I am standing in that space alone. No man wants to except me, so the only option for me is to become primitive, if only to belong." She turned her head slightly towards him. "Keep looking forward." She did that. "Blake, you wouldn't understand as much as I will. You know that and so do I. If you were a cat-person, just like I am a wolf-person, then maybe, just maybe you would be like me. I wouldn't know, fate is different between two people. Fate brought your interest in me, and fate brought you to my aid. I don't know what else is stored for me, whether or not I will find peace, or acceptance. I want to live a happy life, not alone, miserable somewhere in the gutter."

"Tōboe...why...can't you be with the Faunus, if we are just as separate as you from the Humans?"

"They still see me as different Blake. I thought I mentioned that before."

"I don't remember."

"I was the only thing that the Faunus and the Humans agreed on when I was little. They bullied me. I started to avoid contact with anyone. It was...it is a hard experience for me."

"I can help you, if you want to overcome that fear."

"By meeting your team?"

"We don't have to Tōboe. Maybe some Faunus at the least?"

"...Maybe…" He looked down. "Maybe…" He turned his head to view Blake. "It's okay, you can stop looking." She turned to face him. "I may consider it, but I don't trust you just yet. We've only just met and really, we've only spent so little time together."

She smiled weakly. "I learned about second chances, but even grim fairy tales need a happy ending, right?"

"Do you...want to come with me?"

Her weak smile faded. "Come where?"

"With them."

"...I…"

"You can't kill them is all I ask for, I want their trust in me."

"Tōboe, do you really think about this?"

"You have to decide soon Blake. It won't be waiting long." He turned his body around, facing opposite Blake as she remains still. "So what is your decision Blake?"

She looked at him, his eyes were focusing on something in front of him. She didn't turn, just yet, but she felt another presence nearby. "Will they, attack me?"

"I won't let them."

"What will you do with them?"

"I just need them to help me, that is all."

"You want someone to relate to?"

"Yes and no. All I need right now is help." He held his grip on the open wound, covering it still.

"The first aid given to you?"

"Nothing about curing deep wounds. I know that they know something."

"And if they reject you?"

"...then...I guess I will go with you. No choice, I guess."

Blake's bow twitched slightly. Underneath her exterior, she was relieved. "I'm still not sure about this."

He looked ahead still, but he let out a low sound. It felt like the sound of a dog growling. His ears perked up as well, confusing Blake. She turned around, facing the same direction as Tōboe. The hedges were moving, slowing revealing itself to be a Beowolf. It was staring back, working towards them on two. It's arms were down on it's sides, but it was ready for combat. It too was growling back at him. Blake stood back, her hand at bay near her weapon.

Tōboe was growling lowly at the Beowolf, it baring it's teeth. He was communicating with it.

"You are the one who called for us." The Beowolf said to the Faunus. Its attitude was hostile towards him.

"Yes, I was. I called for help," he barked, physically.

"Why should we help you. You bare resemblance to the Humans we sought to kill."

"Yes, I do, but I am not a Human."

It growled harshly. "Faunus are no different to us. You said you appeared to be like us."

"Do your eyes deceive you then? Tell me what do I look more like then? Do I appear more like the Human, the Faunus, or you?" He held his arms out stretched, a sudden sting from an open wound. His face flinched, but retained to be serious.

The Beowolf hid its fangs, its growl disappeared. "You appear much like our kin."

"Did I lie then?"

"No, you did not."

"Please, I want help treating this wound. The Human medicine is inadequate to what I know your kind can give. I was raise alongside Beowolves for some time, I know you have something to treat this kind of wound."

Its ears lessened and were off to the side. "We possess what you need. What you do after is what we question."

"And who is we? Your pack, or the Beowolves?"

"The pack which I belong to."

Blake being left on the side is taking in all what she was seeing, two creatures, one of the Faunus species and another which that is a Grimm, speaking to each other using primitive sounds.

"If your pack allows it, I wish to stay with you for a few days, until this wound can heal."

It's ears peaked and fangs were revealed. "That is much to ask for someone not of our kind. If my pack does allow of such a thing, you will be visualized at all moments of the day. Having our trust is not a thing anyone can be given."

"Right now, I don't need trust. What I need is a place to rest. I don't hunt Beowolves, I hunt all others. Should I need to hunt, I hunt alongside you. What else do I need to do to convince you otherwise? I will only be here in this forest for only so long, in fact only 7 suns and 7 moons. You should understand that I still hold ties to the Humans. I want to leave them only for a short time. They don't accept me as easily, in fact, I can be treated as a Grimm if anything. Something that is hated throughout the day and into the night. The Humans which I am given, they seem to accept me, but I know better. They still look at me as another. I need time apart from the Human world so I can heal a wound. Will you grant me that?"

It growled intensively. "You speak much of being in solitude, that we could only understand." Its growling silenced, teeth still in plain sight. "We will grant you time to heal only, stranger of another kind."

"I was told that I am a Faunus, but I don't know what I am."

"Faunus, we will take you under our protection, we expect you to return our hospitality at some point in the future, you understand?"

"I do. I understand that possibly I will have to fight alongside you."

It's growl ceased to exist. Its head turned towards Blake. He flinched. "The female Faunus. She is not injured."

"I know that, but she is currently the only one who seems to trust me. I can not tell if she truly accepts me as what I am. I had asked her in her language if she wants to accompany me."

It's eyes narrowed. "She is a Hunter, is she not?"

"So am I if you recall all the Humans and Faunus here are being part of a facility they call Beacon. Still, I hold my peace with your kind. I will not execute any Beowolves, you have my word."

"Do I have hers is what I question."

"I had spoke of that to her. She should not attack any Beowolves, should she want to accompany us." He turned his head slightly to her. The Beowolf stood still. Blake had taken the time to realize how tall a Beowolf was compared to her. They were giants, but when comparable with Humans, they only stood a foot or two taller than her. Still, she's never known of a Grimm creature to remain tame in the presence of a Human or Faunus.

"And what is her response, Faunus?"

He turned his head towards Blake. "B-blake," he coughed having a dry throat from creating excessive sounds. "I never heard your answer."

"My...answer?"

"Yes. So I ask you again, are you coming with me?"


End file.
